News review – Tuesday 24 June 2019

Tory leadership

Express
ANGRY Tory MPs last night accused a Left-wing hate mob of trying to wreck Boris Johnson’s bid to become prime minister with a campaign of intrusion and harassment. Jacob Rees-Mogg led a string of senior backbenchers in rallying around the former foreign secretary following the political storm about a row with his girlfriend that has threatened to derail his leadership campaign.

MailBoris Johnson warned Britain to ‘prepare for a No Deal Brexit’ last night in the hope of winning concessions from the EU. But as he revealed his Brexit blueprint, he was warned he faces a mutiny from Tory Remainers which could force him from office within months. In the most detailed explanation of his plans so far, Mr Johnson told the BBC that Theresa May’s Brexit deal was ‘dead’ – but insisted his ‘positive energy’, coupled with the threat of No Deal and the withholding of the £39billion divorce payment could persuade the EU to back down in key areas.

iNewsTory leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt has been accused of “hypocrisy” after refusing to explain why he believes the time limit on abortions should be reduced. The Foreign Secretary told Good Morning Britain (GMB) it was important for his opponent Boris Johnson to answer questions about what he would do as Prime Minister, but would not expand on why he is in favour of cutting the current 24-week limit for abortions to 12 weeks.

Telegraph
Jeremy Hunt has announced plans for £15 billion of extra defence spending as he took advantage of Boris Johnson’s troubles to forge ahead with policy announcements. The Foreign Secretary has carried out eight broadcast interviews since Saturday, compared with Mr Johnson’s one, and is trying to close the gap on the front-runner by making bold announcements on how he would spend public money if he made it to Number 10.

GuardianJeremy Hunt will promise to increase spending on defence by a quarter during the next five years, as he seeks to woo the grassroots Tories who will select Britain’s next prime minister. The foreign secretary is the underdog in the race to succeed Theresa May, with Boris Johnson the clear favourite, but the defence pledge is the latest of a series of policy announcements aimed at enthusing the Tory grassroots – and highlighting the lack of clear policies in Johnson’s leadership platform.

IndependentJeremy Hunt warned that a government led by Boris Johnson could “collapse immediately” due to a fragile coalition of people supporting his leadership. The remarks from the foreign secretary came as he accused his rival in the race to succeed Theresa May of cowardice for “pathetically” avoiding questioning and trying to “slink through the back door” of No 10.

Sky News
Jeremy Hunt has pledged to spend an extra £15 billion on defence if he is made prime minister to help combat “new threats to western values”. The Foreign Secretary and Tory leadership hopeful said he would increase funding for the armed forces by 25% over five years to show Britain is “determined to remain a first-rank military power”.

Mail
Jeremy Hunt has promised a £15billion boost in defence spending to see off the rising threat from Moscow. The Foreign Secretary said he wants Britain to play a leading global role in deterring Russian aggression. The Tory leadership hopeful vowed that as prime minister, he would increase defence spending from 2 to 2.5 per cent of national income over five years. The former health secretary said the extra money would boost Britain’s naval presence in the face of Russian submarine activity, ‘fire up’ the country’s ability to counter cyber-attacks and provide ‘equipment upgrades’ for troops.

TimesJeremy Hunt last night pledged to spend an additional £15 billion a year on defence as it emerged that Boris Johnson’s tax plans will cost £9 billion. Mr Hunt vowed to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP over the next five years, up from its current level of about 2 per cent, which is the Nato minimum target. There was no detailed explanation of how the commitment would be funded, however.

Mail
Plans floated by Boris Johnson to give a tax cut to people on more than £50,000 would cost around £9 billion and mainly benefit the top 10% of earners, according to new analysis. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), a respected economic think tank, said it was ‘not clear’ that spending so much on tax cuts would be compatible with both ending austerity in public spending and the ‘prudent management of the public finances’.

Conservative Party

Mail
Veteran Tory europhile Ken Clarke suggested today he could help hard Left Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn collapse a Conservative government led by Boris Johnson if he tries to force through a No Deal Brexit. The former chancellor said he would not back any administration which tries to ‘pursue policies which are totally incompatible with everything the Conservative Party has stood for’ since he became an MP in 1970.

GuardianConservatives stepped up warnings on Monday that a Boris Johnson premiership could lead to the collapse of the government if the leadership frontrunner attempts to pursue no deal. One former Tory minister said he believed there were many more Tory MPs who would be prepared to take that step than those who would publicly admit it. “I do think at least 10 would vote to bring down the government if the government was taking us into no deal,” the MP said.

IndependentBoris Johnson has been warned that as many as a dozen Conservative MPs will back a vote of no confidence, triggering a general election, to block a no-deal Brexit. The former foreign secretary has promised to take the UK out of the Europe Union on 31 October with or without an agreement on divorce terms. And his rival for the Tory leadership, Jeremy Hunt, the current foreign secretary, has not ruled out a potentially damaging no-deal outcome, though he says he is ready to extend Brexit negotiations in the hope of avoiding it.

Morning Star
SHOCK new polling has revealed the depth of Islamophobia in the Conservative Party. More than two-thirds of Tories believe there are areas of Britain “operating under sharia law,” according to a YouGov poll of party members. And almost half believe there are “no-go” areas of Britain where it is unsafe for non-Muslims to visit.

Independent
Two-thirds of Conservative Party members believe parts of Britain operate under sharia law, a new poll has shown amid a mounting Islamophobia scandal. A YouGov poll found almost half of Tories believed in the myth of no-go zones where “non-Muslims are not able to enter” and 39 per cent thought Islamist terror attacks “reflected widespread hostility to Britain among the Muslim community”.

Yahoo News
Two thirds of Conservative Party members believe that parts of Britain “operate under Sharia law”, a new poll has shown amid a mounting Islamophobia scandal. A YouGov poll found that almost half of Tories believed in the myth of no-go zones where “non-Muslims are not able to enter” and 39 per cent thought Islamist terror attacks “reflected widespread hostility to Britain among the Muslim community”.

Labour Party

Times
Labour MPs have been given two weeks to decide whether they want to stand for the party at the next general election. In a surprise message to the parliamentary Labour Party yesterday Jennie Formby, the general secretary, announced that the party’s national executive committee (NEC) would begin the process of choosing candidates for the next general election.

GuardianLabour MPs have been given a fortnight to decide whether they want to stand again for parliament as the party gears up for an early general election by kicking off what some fear could turn into a wave of deselections. Those MPs who want to continue to represent their constituency in future must first navigate the trigger-ballot process. After a contentious rule-change at last year’s Labour conference, that means commanding the support of two-thirds of local party branches and two-thirds of affiliated trade union branches.

Morning Star
RAILWAY workers under a Labour government will have board-level representation at national level in a unified railway system, shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said. He told delegates at RMT’s annual congress in Manchester today that a government led by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn would create a single railway company that controls both infrastructure and train services within a single organisation.

Independent
A definitive shift in Labour’s Brexit policy has been put on hold after the Unite union dug its heels in against moves to throw the party’s full weight behind a second referendum and a Remain vote. Hopes that a change in position would be agreed on Tuesday at a crunch shadow cabinet meeting were dashed after the union’s intervention in talks with Jeremy Corbyn.

Telegraph
John McDonnell has confirmed Labour plans to delist from the London Stock Exchange any company that “fails” to address the climate change crisis. In a speech to City leaders and hosted by lobbying group UK Finance, the shadow chancellor said that regulation was necessary to “divert investment away from fossil fuels”. This effort required legislation to ensure that companies could be stripped of their London listings if necessary, he added.

TBP

IndependentNigel Farage’s Brexit Party is to table a petition calling for an investigation into allegations of impropriety during this month’s Peterborough by-election. The move follows reports of irregularities in the use of postal voting in the contest, which was won by Labour’s Lisa Forbes by a wafer-thin majority of 683 over the Brexit Party. Mr Farage urged an end to the postal voting system in its current form, as party chair Richard Tice said there had been numerous “rumours” including of “vote rigging”.

BBC News
The Brexit Party has called for an investigation into Labour’s narrow victory in the Peterborough by-election. Labour’s Lisa Forbes won the seat on 6 June by 683 votes, ahead of the Brexit Party. Its chairman Richard Tice said there had been numerous “rumours” about the outcome, including “vote-rigging”. Cambridgeshire Police said no offences had been revealed in its inquiry into bribery and postal votes.

Westmonster
The Brexit Party have today announced that they are to legally challenge the result of the Peterborough by-election. It comes after claims of illegal activity, with Cambridgeshire Police having confirmed that they were investigating five allegations. Some of these have now been dismissed. At a press conference this morning, the party highlighted the involvement of Tariq Mahmood who had previously been jailed for postal vote interference.

Guardian
The Brexit party is to launch a formal legal challenge against the result of this month’s Peterborough by election, where it was narrowly beaten by Labour, claiming that allegations of corruption connected to postal votes need to be investigated. Nigel Farage, the party’s leader, insisted the challenge was about more than the loss to Labour by 683 votes, saying the wider use of postal votes was open to abuse and needed to be investigated

Express
NIGEL FARAGE’S Brexit Party will aim to get their first MP in Westminster as the Conservative Party name a convicted fraudster as their candidate for the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election. Chris Davies – who caused the by-election after being booted out by constituents in a recall petition – will stand for the Conservative Party in the Tory stronghold in a dramatic turn of events.

Breitbart
Brexit leader Nigel Farage has told Breitbart London that he could work with a future Prime Minister Boris Johnson provided he was brave and “Churchillian” in office, but warned that he could be Mr Johnson’s worst enemy if he decided to betray Brexit. In comments made to Breitbart’s James Delingpole, Nigel Farage strongly implied the chances of heir presumptive Boris Johnson would make a good Prime Minister who would deliver both Brexit and conservative policies were pretty low, when he responded to a question on the matter with laughter only.

CHUK

Express
CHANGE UK has vowed to block a no deal Brexit in a move that could potentially bring the Government to its knees, despite the threat of total annihilation in a subsequent general election. This would see the struggling party, which now has just five MPs, perform a massive U-turn after suggesting in April it would in fact back Theresa May in a confidence vote because its own members did not believe a general election would solve the Brexit crisis.

Huffington Post
The Change UK party of breakaway MPs has vowed to back a no confidence vote in the government if it is necessary to stop a no-deal Brexit despite the threat of almost certain wipeout in a subsequent general election. It marks something of a U-turn for the fledging centrist party, which in April suggested it would back Theresa May in a confidence vote because its MPs did not believe an election would solve the Brexit impasse.

Ireland

Evening StandardBoris Johnson has said he would be able to persuade Brussels to resolve the Irish backstop but admitted he would need EU cooperation. In an interview with the BBC, the Conservative leadership frontrunner said he “did not believe for a moment” the UK would leave without a Brexit deal, although he was willing to do so if required. Mr Johnson said the existing deal negotiated by Theresa May was “dead” and he could agree a new deal with the EU before the October 31 deadline because their was now a “different understanding” of what is needed in the UK and Europe.

Independent
Proposed technological solutions to avoid a hard Irish border after Brexit will not succeed in the absence of consent from populations in both the Republic and the North, a former shadow Northern Ireland secretary has warned. A new independent report claims that “alternative arrangements” based on existing technologies could be in place within three years to keep the border open and do away with the need for the controversial backstop.

BBC News
A report on how to avoid checks on the Irish border after Brexit suggests the UK and Ireland could try to form a new single zone for food standards. The radical proposal is part of the Alternative Arrangements report. It is backed by Tory MPs Nicky Morgan and Greg Hands. Food standards are one of the most difficult border issues due to strict EU rules as food products entering from a non-member state must be subject to checks at the point of entry.

Telegraph
Ireland is facing demands from six fellow EU countries to set out detailed plans for how it will manage a no-deal Brexit as fears grow in Brussels that such an exit may be unavoidable, The Telegraph can reveal. In the first clear sign that EU solidarity with Ireland is starting to come under strain, a gang of six states: France, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Denmark and the Netherlands; are insisting that Ireland must set out in operational detail how it will protect EU borders.

Scotland

Mail
Boris Johnson was today warned that he must ‘carry the whole United Kingdom’ if he becomes PM – after a poll suggested the drive for Scottish independence could be fuelled if he gets the top job. MPs insisted Mr Johnson and rival Jeremy Hunt must ‘prove’ their commitment to the union during the campaign. The warning came after Nicola Sturgeon seized on a new survey to gloat that Mr Johnson will be a ‘disaster’ for the Tories.

Express
NICOLA STURGEON hit out at Tory leadership hopefuls Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson this afternoon, accusing them of failing to explain how they will deliver Brexit – which she claimed has created a “democratic deficit” in Scotland. Scotland’s First Minister Ms Sturgeon launched a blistering attack against Brexit and Whitehall, accusing Theresa May’s Government of leaving constitutional conventions “in shreds”.

EU

Telegraph
Switzerland will ban European Union stock exchanges from trading Swiss shares in retaliation for Brussels freezing its bourses out from the EU market. The European Commission refused to grant Swiss stock exchanges access after its patience ran out during negotiations over a long-delayed partnership treaty. “Equivalence”, the system of regulatory recognition used to govern access for financial services in non-EU countries, will now elapse on July 1.

Mirror
The European Commission has complained to the UK government over obstacles it says stopped EU citizens entitled to vote from casting a ballot in last month’s European elections. A letter sent to the Cabinet Office claims that voters from other EU states – who are entitled for vote in EU wide polls regardless of where they live in the union – faced “a number of obstacles to participation”.

Education

Times
Up to 8,500 children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities are being left out of the education system, according to a study. The National Education Union analysed government data showing the number of pupils with an education healthcare plan, (which lays out the support their local council is obliged to provide), who do not have a place in school or higher education place. Justin Cooke, policy manager for the charity Ambitious about Autism, said that schools have reduced support structures and teaching assistant numbers to cut costs and so are increasingly unable to meet the needs of pupils with special needs.

Sun
Chris Grayling and other Cabinet Ministers are joining forces to try and block Theresa May’s “outrageous” £27 billion school funding push in a serious blow to Downing Street plans. The Transport Secretary is among a group who have sided with Philip Hammond in the blistering row over the legacy blitz. Sources told The Sun the ‘rebel’ group could even write an official complaint to Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill in a staggering move.

Dementia

Telegraph
Common drugs including antidepressants could increase the risk of dementia by up to 50 per cent, a major study has found. Experts said the findings had “enormous implications” for millions of Britons, with half of middle-aged people taking one of the medications. The class of drugs – which are also prescribed to treat bladder conditions, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy- are called anticholinergic medication.

About The Author

Debbie has been a journalist for longer than she cares to admit! She has been freelance for the last 15 years and is deputy editor on INDEPENDENCE Daily, specialising in covering the morning press each day.

12 Comments

Steps for Boris 3
Inform the mother of caviar that her next referendum must allow referendum votes for ex pats. That should shut her up.

What the hell is up with UKIP when they’re needed ?

st

Harold Armitage
on June 25, 2019 at 4:00 pm

Can anyone explain to me how there can be a successful no confidence vote on Boris when he has such a massive lead in the leadership campaign?

stuart grice
on June 25, 2019 at 2:48 pm

Where is he going to get it from ? hes ruined the nhs now he wants to cripple defence, the man is insane, no wonder he supported May

Biscotte
on June 25, 2019 at 12:10 pm

Lots of info about various parties, but what about UKIP?
Have they got a leader? Anybody heard of him / her? And others – in the cabinet?
I have given up looking on the UKIP site as it is either not there or pops up a month late.

The UKIP silence is deafening.

Jake Bennett
on June 25, 2019 at 3:21 pm

Biscotte Interim UKIP leader Piers Wauchope – nominations for leadership election close 27th June. New leader announced 10th August I believe. Hopefully, leadership hustings during this period will be publicised.

Jim R
on June 25, 2019 at 10:35 am

The Cucks. Lets be accurate, they have been driving round in circles since their formation, no U turns required. On this occasion they are just acknowledging the fact that they are basically an irrelevance with only a bit part to play due to Parliamentary arithmetic and they wil be wiped out at the next elections, hopefully as part of the process of the moral restoration of our Parliament.

T G Spokes
on June 25, 2019 at 10:24 am

£15 bn on defence just means the floodgates are open for more Civil Servants at the MOD…

Ken Clark . AKA Lickstittle and his hag.

When government announces lumps of money. As the Hag hopes.The first bite of the cherry is to Top, then lower Civil service, Then Managers and their hangers on who need rewards for all that handshaking, kissing etc. Then contracts for anything….. So long as there is the usual 5% cashback system in operation. Anything left over for the proles …. Naaaah

Nobody could stiffen Boris’s resolve like Nigel.

Stistically it seems impossible for so many odd Labour results are obtained by statistically impossible postal votes. There must be conspiring tolerated.

Of course the Labour party only remembers the golden drug addkled beautiful dream of the 50’s and 60’s when unions ran the rails into the lgends of British Rail Sandwiches and resting porters followed by the civil service inspired dreams of Beeching. the celebrated paperclip counter

Please keep up the good work Debbie.

Debbie
on June 25, 2019 at 2:20 pm

🙂

Jim R
on June 25, 2019 at 10:22 am

F.B. Clarke. Since when was collaborating with Marxists, if you wish to use that term I regard them as being more like Fascists, bringing down your own Government with the strong possibility of them forming a government along with other Fascists like the SNP, Lib Dems, Greens etc, been part of Conservative values?

Jake Bennett
on June 25, 2019 at 3:30 pm

Jim R But what does this tell us about the Conservative Party members of Rushcliffe. They have known what this dreadful man is all about for three decades.

MWT
on June 25, 2019 at 10:12 am

“…regulation was necessary to “divert investment away from fossil fuels”.

Guess Liebore aren’t for the miners anymore then.

Bizarre that the Tory candidate for Brecon will be the disgraced incumbent?! Gift to the BXP to shoot the LimpDim fox?

Michael Keal
on June 25, 2019 at 10:02 am

From across the pond:

Things are REALLY hotting up in Oregon, US
and yes this time it really IS due to climate change!
(But not in the way you might think.)

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